Daniel Tyler

12042007

Daniel Tyler: born Brooklyn, CT 1/7/1799; father was a veteran of Bunker Hill; nephew was Bvt MGUSA Robert O. Tyler; daughter Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler Carow was mother of First Lady Edith Roosevelt; West Point class of 1819 (14 of 29);served in artillery and became an authority on the arm, studying in France at the artillery school in Metz and translating French artillery manuals into English; superintendent of inspectors of arms supplied the army by private contractors; resigned 1stLt. 5/31/34; worked in iron manufacturing, developing blast furnaces and rolling mills (unsuccessful); president of Norwich & Worcester RR, then Macon & Western RR (GA); did not serve in the Mexican War; was a volunteer ADC to MGPA Militia Robert Patterson in April 1861; Col, 1st CT Militia 4/23/61; BG CT Militia 5/10/61; Tyler’s Brigade, Army of NE VA 6/3/61 to 7/8/61; First Division Army of NE VA 7/8/61 to 8/11/61; MOV 8/11/61; BGUSV 3/13/62 (n 3/4/62 c 3/13/62); 2nd Brig, 1st Div Army of the Mississippi, 4/62 to 5/1/62; took part in siege of Corinth; part of commission which investigated MGUSV D. C. Buell’s campaign in KY & TN; Harper’s Ferry, 8th Corps, Middle Dept., 6/13/63 to 7/3/63; Dist. of Delaware, 8th Corps, Middle Dept. 7/3/63 to 1/19/64; resigned 4/6/64, to NJ; in 1870’s, after establishing the Woodstock Iron Ore Co. in the area, he helped found the city of Anniston, AL (named after his daughter-in-law, Annie – “Annie’s Town”) – the town became the site of an industrial complex, and Fort McClellan was established nearby; rescued the Mobile & Montgomery RR and became its president; acquired significant tracts of land in Guadalupe, TX; died on visit to New York City, 11/30/1882; buried in Hillside Cemetery, Anniston, AL.

Sources: Eicher & Eicher, Civil War High Commands, pp 538-539, 767; Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the U. S. Army, Vol. I p 977; Sifakis, Who was Who in the American Civil War, p 665; Warner, Generals in Blue, pp 514-515.

“After taking a devastating drubbing in a race for mayor of New York City, T.R. went off to London to marry Edith Carow, a childhood sweetheart. The Carows had lost their money and were now living in Europe where it was cheaper to keep up appearances. The family, however, had not always known hard times. (Her maternal grandfather was Union General Daniel Tyler, whose leadership bears some of the blame for the disaster at Bull Run, but who later became a successful iron manufacturer and railroad president) – worldroots.com, 8/31/2006, The Roosevelt Dynasty,article written by Stephen Hess in “America’s Political Dynasties”, Doubleday & Company, Inc., NY, 1966

Harry, I came upon “BullRunnings” via GoodSearching Gen Tyler. Gen Sherman’s letter of July 19, 1861, to John Sherman, mentions Tyler experimenting with rifled cannon at Bulls Run, only to “get a Rowland for his Oliver.” This letter is on p 121 of the Simpson-Berlin volume, “Sherman’s Civil War.” I had not ever really heard about Tyler. When I turned to William Scaife’s “Order of Battle,” his name appears as “Taylor.” Well, I was *sure* Sherman knew how to spell the artillery man’s name, but I wanted to confirm and find out more. (I use Scaife to try to visualize the units involved when studying specific battles. This 1997 book has not had very many errors in the eight years I’ve used it.) I have both Eicher and Eicher, and Sifakis, so I appreciate your photos here, and the additional information on Gertrude Carow and Edith Carow Roosevelt. Gen Tyler was one upstanding fellow! Thanks.

Yes, Sherman was referring to the fighting at Blackburn’s Ford, claiming that Tyler did not really want to attack but rather just engage the enemy’s artillery. This is somewhat at odds with modern interpretations that say Tyler saw a chance for glory and intentionally disobeyed McDowell’s orders. I’m not really sure how such an idea can be supported, but “historians” make such conclusions all the time (see Kilpatrick at Gettysburg).

Tyler is still a bit of a mystery. Unlike the other division commanders, as far as I can see he had no USA or USV rank. In 15 years in the army he could not advance past first lieutenant, and he’d been out of the army for about 27 years, yet he recieved the biggest command in McDowell’s army.

Thank you for doing the research and all that you do. I am a decedant of Annie Scott-Tyler [the one that Anniston Ala. was named after] I know that Daniel was her father-in-law. He seems to have been a very smart and interesting man.I am always doing what I can to find new information on her and her husband and family, etc….this is very neat.

If you are also related to Daniel Tyler via Annie, that makes you the first descendant of a Bull Run participant to contact me. Are you descended from Daniel Tyler, or from Annie via another child not of the Tyler line?

Came across your Bull Run site. Very good. Here’s a tough question. Jeremiah O Leroy was one of handful of Ct deaths at B.R. No Jeremiah O Leroy in Ct. census listings. I suspect the soldier was really Jeremiah O’Leary. I’m writing about Ct Irish in the war and so am biased in wanting him to be Irish. There were some Jeremiah Leary and Jeremiah O’Leary in CT and New England 1860 census. No widow pension as far as I can find. One Jeremiah O’Leary pension was filed from CT but for a guy in Rhode Island 7th Inf. Any way to get at this? Thanks – Neil Hogan

Lots of questions you need to answer – what regiment was O’Leary in? What regiment was Leroy apparetnly in? Check also Connecticut papers after the battle – casualties were reported there. Other places to check are the state archives. Keep in mind also that not all soldiers in Connecticut regiments were necessarily Connecticut resdidents. Jeremiah O’Leary is a name of some significance – there was one of that name who served under Nathaniel Greene in the Revolution, and another who was a radical Sinn Feinnian in the early 20th century.

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!